BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- The nation's wildfire alert has been raised to its highest level. And fire fighters from outside the U-S could be called on to help fight blazes in the bone-dry West.

Resources have been stretched thin by nearly 70 fires bigger than 100 acres burning in 12 states. National Guard units could be mobilized.

Lightning has sparked dozens of new blazes in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Utah.

According to a spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center, more than one thousand new fires have been reported across the West since Monday.

No relief is in sight. Dry, windy conditions, thunderstorms and temperatures reaching above 100 degrees are forecast to continue across most of the Rocky Mountain West through next week.